Tess Heal had a season-high 17 factors to guide 4 double-digit scorers, and Kansas State used a 28-6 third-quarter scoring run to interrupt a halftime tie and draw back from Cincinnati in a 79-52 victory within the Wildcats’ Big 12 Conference residence opener on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Jordan Speiser scored 15 factors and added eight rebounds for her fourth double-figure outing within the final six video games, Taryn Sides had 14 factors, 9 assists and a career-high six steals, and Nastja Claessens added 14 factors as properly for Okay-State, 8-7 total and 1-1 within the Big 12, which sputtered within the first half earlier than coming alive to place away the short-handed Bearcats, 5-9 and 0-2, who suffered 30 turnovers.
“This was huge — huge,” stated Okay-State head coach Jeff Mittie, whose crew suffered a 77-55 loss at No. 9 TCU on Saturday. “I can not overstate it. We want each win we will get proper now. We performed one of many high two or three groups within the league to begin off on the street, so this was an enormous one for us to get and massive for our confidence to play properly.
“The last 25 minutes of today, hopefully we can take that into some games.”
Okay-State stays undefeated all-time in opposition to Cincinnati, which entered the sport as the one Big 12 crew with an 0-3 report in true street video games. But the Bearcats led virtually the whole thing of the primary half earlier than a 28-28 tie at halftime.
This got here as Cincinnati suffered accidents and performed with out 4 gamers whereas opening their Big 12 season with a 91-63 loss to Oklahoma State. Nine Cincinnati gamers have missed a minimum of one recreation this season resulting from damage or sickness, together with place to begin guard Caliyah DeVillasee, who missed her fourth recreation on Wednesday.
“It was a horrible first half,” Mittie stated. “I imply, gosh, simply by way of power or any life — typically you get this out of the Christmas break, however we had been gradual lining up, and we have practiced properly.
“This team is a mystery at times.”
Okay-State cracked the case within the second half.
Hitting pictures everywhere in the courtroom, Okay-State scored the primary 15 factors of the third quarter with two 3-pointers by Claessens and one other one by Sides main the way in which. Speiser added a 3-pointer of her personal within the midst of a 28-6 scoring run for a 56-34 lead because the Wildcats drained 4 3-pointers in a span of seven minutes after making 4 3-pointers throughout your complete first half.
After capturing simply 33.3% (12-of-36) from the ground, together with 26.7% (4-of-15) on 3-pointers within the first half, Okay-State shot 56.3% (9-of-16) from the ground and 55.6% (5-of-9) from lengthy vary within the third quarter.
Tess Heal scored 9 of her game-high 17 factors within the third quarter. She shot 5-of-9 from the ground, together with a season-high 3-of-6 from past the arc, and he or she added two rebounds, two assists and 4 steals in 29 minutes off the bench.
“Tess really ended the second quarter well, and she got us off to a great start in the third quarter,” Mittie stated. “That’s why I started her. She was the player that had the most energy. I thought she competed the most.”
A Claessens’ 3-pointer from the nook, her career-high third 3-pointer of the sport, lifted Okay-State to a 60-40 benefit with 7:13 left within the recreation. The lead grew to 31 factors as a Speiser 3-pointer made it 77-46 with 2:33 to go.
Claessens, Sides, Speiser and Heal every made three 3-pointers within the recreation.
Okay-State held Mya Perry to 14 factors on 5-of-19 capturing after the senior guard ranked sixth within the Big 12 in averaging 18.4 factors per recreation. Perry prolonged her stretch as the primary Cincinnati participant since 2012-13 to attain in double digits in every of the primary 14 video games of a season.
Okay-State outshot Cincinnati 43% to 31% from the ground, had 21 assists on 29 baskets, and the Wildcats made 14-of-34 3-pointers whereas the Bearcats went 3-of-18 from lengthy vary. Okay-State outscored Cincinnati 16-0 on fastbreak factors, however most obvious was that the Bearcats suffered 30 turnovers whereas the Wildcats dedicated 18.
Okay-State routinely pressured the Bearcats down the courtroom and produced 15 steals, together with six from Sides and 4 from Heal.
“Cincinnati was without their point guard today,” Mittie stated. “She’s a heck of a player. They were vulnerable and lacking a really good ball handler, so we wanted to see how it’d look.”
Sides turned the primary participant in Okay-State historical past with a minimum of 14 factors, 9 assists and 6 steals in a single recreation.
Okay-State now prepares to face West Virginia at 1:00 p.m. Sunday in Manhattan.
“You have the non-conference, conference play and the postseason,” Mittie stated. “With the 18 teams and a conference game in December, it’s a little bit different, but there’s a different feel. Even though the leagues are so huge now and it’s not like it used to be when you played everybody twice, there’s still a different feel when another team walks in with Big 12 across their chest and you know you’re competing for the same championship, the same seeding, all of those things are different.”
The mission stays the identical.
Win and transfer on.